Little Egypt
Little Egypt is a very large and older nation at 42 days old with citizens primarily of Caucasian ethnicity whose religion is Voodoo. It is a backwards nation when it comes to technology and many refer to it unkindly as a 'Third World Nation'. Its citizens pay extremely high taxes and many despise their government as a result. The citizens of Little Egypt work diligently to produce Coal and Cattle as tradable resources for their nation. It is an aggressive country that some say has an itch for war. It believes nuclear weapons are necessary for the security of its people. Little Egypt has no definite position on drug use in the country at this time. Little Egypt allows its citizens to protest their government but uses a strong police force to monitor things and arrest lawbreakers. It welcomes all new immigrants with open borders. Little Egypt believes in the freedom of speech and feels that it is every citizens right to speak freely about their government. Little Egypt has no definite foreign aid at this time. Little Egypt has no definite position on trade relations. Government Head of State All Temporal and Spiritual leadership of the nation is formally held by His Holiness, Saluki, Pharaoh of Little Egypt, Riverine Empire of the West. In practice, his Holiness' direct powers as head of State are somewhat limited to diplomatic relations, command of the military in foreign actions, addressing and dismissing Parliament, ruling on law with regard to Constitutional issues, and the appointment of High Court judges. Spiritually, his Holiness is the Head of the State Church, and Holy Possessed Host of a number of ancient and powerful spirits. As such he serves to interpret their will, wield their great and terrible magicks, and interpret their religious proclamations and prophecies. Parliament The Parliament is the chief lawmaking and administrative body of the Empire, managing day to day business for His Holiness and his People. House Discordant The House Discordant is the largest, most chaotic, most influential House in Parliament. Membership is aquired by obtaining a sufficiently large power block, either through signature petitions, business power, forming a municipal government with sufficient influence and population, or religious influence. Within the House membership is further subdivided into numerous temporary committees and action groups. The House is effectively intended to function as a means of obtaining a broad picture of the varying interests of the people within the Empire. The House Discordant, in addition to writing bills and passing them into laws, handle such things as bugetary matters, as well as much of the day to day operations that in many government would be handled under Executive branches as various departments or ministries...such as internal defense and security, in frastructure development, education, health, and other matters. House Protectant House Protectant is the "upper house" of Parliament, charged with ensuring overseeing the House Discordant, approving or vetoing new laws passed by the House Discordant, as well as having sole power to repeal old laws, revoke administrative actions taken by House Discordant, and in extreme cases, the trying of public officials for corruption or other crimes against the crown. Membership is by lottery, with all citizens of age eligible to be called for service for a minimum of one term. Judicial The Courts of Little Egypt are divided into the Royal Court, High Courts and the Municipal Courts. Royal Courts The Pharaoh's own court, where final issues of Constitutionality as well as Religious Law are decided. There is no appeal. High Courts Judges of the High Courts judge all capital and felony offenses against the crown, save those under the jurisdiction of the House Protectant. These courts also handle appeals from Municipal courts. The Judges are appointed, for life, by His Holiness. Municipal Courts Municipal court judges try minor criminal offenses as well as civil cases. They are elected or appointed by local municipal governments. Nation History Early History Following the Great Zombie Apocalypse and Dark Age which had left the region decimated and with little government, historical records, or infrastructure, a small council was formed in the city of Cairo to create a functional government for the region. This government, a loose federation of townships of various nationalities, banded together for trade and greater security. This Federal style republic lasted for some time, but as the nation grew to include additional townships, isolated islands, and unoccupied wasteland territories along the major rivers...the original base government found itself overstretched for it's structure, disbanded, and enabled a transitional government to rule while a Constitutional Convention was called to create a new, reformed government. Thus began the First Transitional Era. First Transitional Era & War of Xortican Liberation It was during this First Transitional Era that Little Egypt encourntered it's first major challenge. A military ally, Xortica, had fallen under attack by a loose band of rogue States. The motives behind these attacks were somewhat unclear. Various historians attribute the attacks to technology raiding or a thirst for Xortican land, while others have suggested that the single Royal family which ruled the two primary nations involved might have had some sort of insanity brought on by generations of royal inbreeding. Regardless of the motives involved, the nations attacked with force, without mercy, and with little regard for the lives of their own people. The (transitional) Federal Union of Little Egypt immediately sent military forces, first as advisors to back the Xortican government, and later a full military campaign was launch along with a number of allied nations. Initial success in the war brought vast technological advancement to Little Egypt, allowing development and deployment of advanced missle technology and improved main battle tanks. Troops inflicted serious casualties on enemy forces with while taking few themselves. When the first peace offers from the opposition came in...they were in fact a ruse, quickly followed by barrages of missles as well as light air strikes. The Egyptian air and ground campaign continued, and the enemy continued to fall back on all fronts, and their armies were near defeat. A confused period of what seemed like initial peace talks started, but broke down shortly afterwards. It was in this time that suddenly and unexpectedly, a massive mercenary force gathered in the lead enemy nation of Silver Vestland. A swift and massive assault force bypassed the offensive forces halted near their capitol, and pushed a massive strike into the heart of Little Egypt. While there had been raids before, with few casualties, the defenders were caught off guard by the sudden and massive attack. While the Egyptian forces held the defense, and pushed the mercenary forces back, it was at a massive death toll. The battle, known locally as the Seige of Cairo, was the single bloodiest battle in the war for the Egyptian Forces. The destruction caused, and the loss of military and law enforcement capaibility, threw the already shacky government into a period of anarchy and civil war. During the time that followed a number of strikes were still carried out against the enemy forces, primarily missle strikes, but peace was declared soon after. Second Transitional Era The Civil War raged on for some time, with little news or any kind of contact with the outside world. Eventually however, business interests again started to make their play, trade began rebuilding, and a call for some sort of government began. A Transitional Counsil was formed, composed of varying military and civilian interests, with the primary interest in maintaining order. The council was somewhat loose in it's organization, and many called it more of an "Adhocracy of adhocracies." Policies changed considerably, and often rapidly during this time, from militant to peaceful, different economic policies, currencies, even the flag was many times. Disagreements nearly drove the land back to civil war many times, but ultimately peace, business, and greater prosperity won out. Coming of the Pharaoh Little Egypt had long been a religious land, with the religion of Voodoo rapidly gaining in popularity to become the dominant...and then State religion. With a strong religious focus in our society and government, it was felt that a stronger hand...at least symbolically, needed to be placed as a Head of State. The transitional government, bowing to religious pressure, and upon consultation of the spirits, decided to appoint a powerful, beloved symbol to be the spiritual and temporal head of the nation. After much consultation, medication, and psychedelics...they made their choice, offering the Title of His Holiness, Pharaoh of Little Egypt, Riverine Empire of the West to the President of the former regime, Saluki, who was also also a great war hero during the Seige of Cairo during the War of Xortican Liberation.